How Do You Feel About The Government

[Justin86]

[mod]edited for mature content --hugheyforlife[/mod]

[Altari]

[quote name='Justin86' post='1517980' date='May 4 2008, 01:51 AM'][mod]edited for mature content --hugheyforlife[/mod][/quote]

[mod]personal attack -777[/mod]

[Justin86]

[quote name='Altari' post='1517986' date='May 4 2008, 03:55 PM'][mod]personal attack[/mod][/quote]
No offense taken. I tend to be too lighthearted to be offended by most croutons.

[Justin86]

Mmm...croutons.

[cmotherofpirl]

sounds like this thread is headed to the lame board, since the topic has been forgotten..

[rachael]

lame.

[Mercy me]

Back on topic. I don't support the government bailing out the mortgage industry. They need to reap what they have sown. They approved people for more than they could afford. The people bought more house than they could afford. They all need to learn a lesson. The unfortunate part is that it run the price of housing so high.

Off topic, this same problem is also seen in the cost of higher education.

[cmotherofpirl]

If the government is going to do anything, it should ban balloon mortgages and convert them all to fixed rate. That would help the home owner and spank the mortgage lenders who created this mess in the first place.

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
[quote name='Altari' post='1517781' date='May 3 2008, 08:38 PM']I don't like it. Especially this idea that the federal government would "buy" upside-down mortgages to "bail out" homeowners. I don't like the idea of the government owning my home - it smacks of communism.[/quote]


[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1518265' date='May 4 2008, 10:53 AM']If the government is going to do anything, it should ban balloon mortgages and convert them all to fixed rate. That would help the home owner and spank the mortgage lenders who created this mess in the first place.[/quote]
agreed.

[kenrockthefirst]

[quote name='Altari' post='1517781' date='May 3 2008, 09:38 PM']I don't like it. Especially this idea that the federal government would "buy" upside-down mortgages to "bail out" homeowners. I don't like the idea of the government owning my home - it smacks of communism.[/quote]
Did you "not like it" when the government bailed out Bear Stearns? Did that smack of communism?

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[CatherineM]

It might also help to cap mortgages for single family homes at 30 years. 40 year mortgages or interest only mortgages are just a recipe for disaster when housing goes down. If you can't afford a payment on a 25 year mortgage, you are either buying too large a house, or you just aren't financially up to owning right now.

[kenrockthefirst]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1522407' date='May 8 2008, 02:41 PM']It might also help to cap mortgages for single family homes at 30 years. 40 year mortgages or interest only mortgages are just a recipe for disaster when housing goes down. If you can't afford a payment on a 25 year mortgage, you are either buying too large a house, or you just aren't financially up to owning right now.[/quote]
Right, but that would mean regulation, which "smacks of communism." Let The Market take care of it. The Market has done such a bang up job up to now.

[Altari]

[quote name='kenrockthefirst' post='1522376' date='May 8 2008, 03:00 PM']Did you "not like it" when the government bailed out Bear Stearns? Did that smack of communism?[/quote]
Yes [I didn't like it]. I despise the idea of government bailouts and subsidies. Let capitalism do its thing. Businesses will rise and fall and, sometimes, fail. C'est la vie. The market is a self-correcting organism.

[Altari]

[quote name='kenrockthefirst' post='1523080' date='May 9 2008, 08:35 AM']Right, but that would mean regulation, which "smacks of communism." Let The Market take care of it. The Market has done such a bang up job up to now.[/quote]
The market has actually done quite well. Part of the current mortgage crisis stems from government subsidies to increase home ownership in the '90s. No, this isn't a "blame Clinton" game. He [and his administration] thought they were doing what was best for the economy. The unforeseen side effect was that lenders would start going after "subprime" candidates to increase home ownership.

The market corrected itself after the Dot Com Bubble. People were crying the end of the blagoblag and ecommerce. Hey look, it's still here.

Nearly all major market problems can be linked to government interventions. The food shortage is a wonderful current example of the problem of government being involved in the economy. Inflation? Bernake is doing his best to keep us out of a depression, despite the fact that dozens of world-renowned economists are screaming for him to keep his hands off.

However, the more important question, that this thread was aimed at, is [i]Are you comfortable with the government holding the deed to your, and everyone else's, home?[/i] I, for one, am not.

[kenrockthefirst]

[quote name='Altari' post='1523120' date='May 9 2008, 08:35 AM']However, the more important question, that this thread was aimed at, is [i]Are you comfortable with the government holding the deed to your, and everyone else's, home?[/i] I, for one, am not.[/quote]
Discussions about macroeconomic theory aside, the government, at least in theory, is accountable to me, whereas slash-n-burn predatory lenders are not. The subprime mortgage crisis is not the government's "fault;" it's due to greedy lenders who thought they saw a way to make a quick buck and it didn't work out. Of course, they were aided and abetted by naive, foolish, or willfully myopic borrowers who bit off more than they could chew, so there's plenty of "blame" to go around. However, unless you want to do away with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, I'm not sure that there's anything inherently wrong with the government securing someone's mortgage.